On January 5, 2018, the Bouncing Bulldogs kicked off the 2nd Annual International KenzieRuston Legacy Jump-A-Thon at 4:00 pm in the Bouncing Bulldogs Community Center (BBCC). For the next 24 hours, there would be at least one person jumping in the Bounce Booth to ensure that all 1,440 minutes were filled with jumping. This task, while daunting, was approached with a positive attitude and energy, just as Kenzie would have done.

From 4:00-9:00, the BBCC was open to the general public. The event was like a big familyreunion as friends reconnected with one another and shared memories. Although everyone walked in with varying experience with jump rope, all were encouraged to jump for Kenzie. The Bulldogs were honored to be joined by some legends in the jump rope world like the president of the National Double Dutch League (NDDL), Lauren Walker, and the Jazzy Jumpers from Brooklyn, New York. The last jump rope competition that Kenzie attended was the Double Dutch Holiday Classic at the Apollo Theater in New York hosted by the NDDL. In the spirit of collaboration, the Jazzy Jumpers shared a drill with the Bulldogs to help jumpers learn how to enter and exit the ropes quickly. This was an instant hit with the Bulldog team members and their families, Kenzie’s family and friends, and the alumni jumpers. Many young jumpers especially enjoyed seeing their parents practice the drill.

Once it was dark outside, everyone received a balloon with a colored light inside and congregated on the outdoor sport court. After some remarks from an alumni parent, everyone released their balloon into the air and watched the lights twinkle and float above. It was a beautiful way to celebrate Kenzie’s birthday and provided a wonderful reminder of how we can keep Kenzie’s spirit alive by living by the values that she stood for.

Following the balloon release, everyone went back inside for a final session of group jumping.Around 9:00, most jumpers left with their families, and the jumpers who were 13 years old and older stayed at the BBCC over night. These jumpers were responsible for covering the night shifts and were split into three groups based on age. In order to ensure that everyone got a chance to rest and participate, the groups alternated between sleeping and jumping. Despite the preliminary feelings of exhaustion, all jumpers pushed through and contributed to the collective effort to keep jumping in the Bounce Booth.

After breakfast, the jumpers who had slept over at the BBCC packed up their stuff and headed to East Chapel Hill High School where they met the younger jumpers and their families. In the final hours of the Jump-A-Thon, co-captains Anna, Kenneth, and Rebecca led the team through sessions focusing on the various elements of jump rope. During this time, the high school and college jumpers focused on helping their younger teammates develop skills. Before everyone jumped together to conclude the Jump-A-Thon, Kenzie’s mom spoke to all in attendance. She mentioned how aside from enjoying competition and shows, Kenzie’s true love was learning and teaching at workshops.

This Jump-A-Thon was a great testimony to Kenzie’s legacy because this event highlighted the learning process. In the Bulldog program, you grow up looking to your leaders for guidance and mentorship and eventually, it’s your turn to do the same for the next generation. From hearing how much alumni and current jumpers respect Kenzie, it is apparent that she both was a receptive learner and passionate teacher. We can all learn from the strong example set by Kenzie and will continue to celebrate her legacy through this apt annual event.

HANNAH M. ​On Saturday, December 3rd, the Bouncing Bulldogs took part in the 26th Annual Double Dutch Holiday Classic at the Apollo Theater in Harlem, New York. From training to traveling back home, the whole experience was incredible and something to remember. For many team members, it was their first time coming to this competition. There is no other competition like this, and having the chance to perform on the Apollo stage is an amazing opportunity. The team did a great job, and the training and work that everyone put in definitely showed. Although I started off this report with what happened on Sunday, that is not where the experience began. It first began all the way back in North Carolina at the Bouncing Bulldogs Community Center. It began with all the morning practices, drills, and training. The team in general put in countless hours at the gym, and our hard work did not go unnoticed. One group from our team won first, second, and third in both speed events of the eighth grade and above category. The younger kids also did very well, especially those who were competing at the Apollo for the first time.

During competitions, staying with the team plays a major role in how you do. Overall the younger kids did very well staying with the team and did a good job of doing what they were told. When competing, you should always stay with the team simply because we are a team. The definition of team is a group of people who come together to achieve a common goal, so if you are part of a team, you must be with the team. The Bouncing Bulldogs is a jump rope team. Noticed that team is not plural. We do not make up groups of individuals, but one single team, and when you are part of a team you should not go off and do your own thing. Although, at this competition everyone did a very good job of staying with the team and supporting each other. We are a big group, but we were still able to keep everyone together. The older kids, Tim, and Coach and Mrs. Fredrick are the ones who did this. They demonstrate care and provide all of us with the help we need. They are able to get everybody where they need to be and get them ready for what is next. They try to make sure that everything runs smoothly, and if something goes wrong, they fix it. This is something that really stood out to me all throughout the weekend. I really was able to see how much they really do and all of the hard work that goes on behind the scenes.

Another thing that stood out to me during this incredible experience was the support we showed each other. Just like at every competition, you could tell if there was a Bulldog group on the floor. Down in the practice room we would watch the others before us in anticipation on the television. We knew they couldn’t hear us, but that didn’t stop us from cheering them on. When I went on the floor, it felt amazing to hear all the cheers and support coming from my teammates in the audience. I also noticed that if Bulldogs beat other Bulldogs, the people who lost we’re happy for the ones who won. Everyone congratulated each other, and it was something to see that was truly amazing. The support and care we all have for one another was truly shown during these moments, and I believe that the team did well not only because of our training and focus, but also because of our unity.

Outreach: an effort to bring services or information to people where they live or spend time (Cambridge Dictionary).When I hear the words “community outreach,” the first thing I think of is the picture in the gym of the Bulldogs bending down to high-five young Costa Rican children. In my mind, Bouncing Bulldogs has always been tied directly with community outreach: every show is some form of outreach, every workshop, every visit to a school or business. Community outreach is important because it introduces all types of people to jump rope. It is also important because the community has given so much to our program. First, the Bulldogs practiced at schools, then they rented space, and finally, they built their own gym, all with plenty of help from the Chapel Hill-Durham community. The Bouncing Bulldogs program has always emphasized the importance to “give more than you take,” and outreach is one of the best ways to do so. ​I think the most effective form of community outreach that the team can give is workshops. Workshops are beneficial because not only do they help to spread the knowledge of the sport, as shows do; they also help to give people a taste of learning how to jump rope. Once a child has learned a few skills, they can teach their friends those skills, and the sport spreads further still.

Community outreach is one of the most important platforms of the Bouncing Bulldogs Program. From doing workshops and shows in communities around the world, to enabling 100 underprivileged kids to attend the workshop and discover their own passions for jump rope, and developing programs for jumpers with special needs, community outreach is a value that we quickly adhere to. But what is exactly is community outreach?

Simply defined, community outreach is the act of reaching out to those in the community who may be less fortunate than you are. Outreach is the process of showing support for, and perhaps offering aid to those around you, and a community constitutes your surroundings and those in them. Thus, community outreach would be giving aid and support to those you surround yourself with, whether you know them or not. ​Both parties benefit from community outreach. The party that reaches out feels the satisfaction and happiness of knowing they have done a good deed, and the beneficiary feels supported and cared for. Community outreach can be done in numerous ways. Reaching out, from a jump rope perspective at least, can be as simple as giving a child a jump rope or as significant as starting a new team in a foreign country. People all over the world are in need of support, especially at such a trying time as this one. For this reason, it is crucial that we as a team who stands for this value indulge in the action of reaching out.

Any activity that involves serving the needs of other individuals or organizations falls under the umbrella of community outreach. Giving back to one’s community is so vital for young people in this day and age, not only because it allows them to acquire various life skills and an increased awareness, but because more importantly it creates a long-lasting positive impact on society. While the vast majority of these acts of service occur on the local level, community outreach is not limited to one’s immediate environment. Outreach on a national or even international scope is equally possible and valuable. In the context of the Bouncing Bulldogs program, community outreach includes performing locally, teaching classes and camps, and traveling to spread and share the sport of jump rope. With this year’s theme being community outreach, the team will undoubtedly be able to focus more on connecting with people and programs inside and outside the borders of Chapel Hill and Durham. The Bouncing Bulldogs program is fortunate to have gained international recognition over the years and now has a platform to connect and build relationships with others around the world through jump rope. Hopefully, through this coming year, with a brand new gym and theme, the program will be able to introduce the sport to new populations and provide more opportunities to young people, while focusing on serving and connecting with as many communities as possible.

The phrase community outreach can be interpreted in several different ways depending on the person. The words “community” and “outreach” separately hold a large and primarily important meaning, yet combining the two concepts creates a powerful thing. Over the past 31 years the Bouncing Bulldogs program has existed, community outreach is something that the program strives to do through the sport of jump rope. Though, what does community outreach mean? First through analyzing what “community” and “outreach” mean, it will strengthen my understanding of this year’s theme.

Community is a word that refers to the environment, atmosphere and people you as a person surround yourself with. The community you are raised in can in some ways shape who you are and your identity. Both your community and identity can positively and negatively impact you, yet it is all really about how you choose to react or respond to it. Secondly, the word outreach refers to how you can help other people not only in your community, but around the world. Through outreach, people are able to connect with people from totally different backgrounds than they are used to seeing and give a helping hand to people in need. The amazing aspect about outreach is that it can be done in so many different ways, from teaching little kids how to jump rope for the first time to helping victims affected by the recent hurricanes. Outreach is an amazing opportunity that not only the members of the Bouncing Bulldogs program experience, but many people across the United States and world as well.

Now constructing the theme of community outreach holds one strong existential meaning. Community outreach means to me giving back and helping other people no matter where they are from. I believe the Bulldog program sees the world as one large community, and any chance that we as a team can spread the sport of jump rope as well as help others, we do so. Community outreach is the essence of the Bulldog program, and that’s one aspect which has led the program to be so large and continue to grow. As this season begins, the program must, as it always has, remember the importance of community outreach and how it really helps to make the world a better place.

Before this year, I had always just considered outreach as giving back to the community around us and worldwide, but I had never thought to look up the literal definition of the word, outreach. Community outreach can mean something different to every individual, but the most basic definition is that it is an activity of providing services to any population who might not have access to those services otherwise. It also says that a key component of outreach is that the groups who are providing are not stationary, but mobile. This actually makes a lot of sense to me and is something I learned about in my Servant Leadership class last year in school. In fact, we learned something called the Upside Down Principle of our culture versus what our world should look like. The three ones that stood out to me and relates to this community outreach are:

To become a leader, you must become a servant

You have to lose your life to find it (you must learn to sacrifice)

You must give generously to receive.

These principles actually come straight from the Bible but are so relatable to our current world and its problems. Many affluent people in our country frequently donate money or resources to different causes and never meet or see the people who they are affecting. In my opinion, this is not necessarily community outreach or servant leadership. Outreach is when you meet the people where they are and connect with them face-to-face to give them something that you have so graciously been given yourself. This is something that the Bulldogs actually do quite well and is probably going to learn how to do even better this year. There are so many people in our community, right in our backyards that we can give back to. My hope is that we can all learn how to communicate better with these people and instead of feeling like we are doing charity for them, we are becoming friends with these people. Sharing our jump rope skills with people is an excellent outlet to connect with people, but most importantly is the relationships and hopefully friendships we are going to build through the process.

Over nine hours of riding, two charter buses, 106 Bulldogs, over 100 families and friends and one common goal: team success at the 2017 World Jump Rope Championship at the University of Central Florida in Orlando.

The five-day competition included 17 different speed and freestyle events. The first two days highlighted all junior competitors ages 14 and younger as well as speed events for all age divisions. Competitors ages 15 and older were then put to the test for their freestyle events on day 3 and 4. The final day - the Grand World Championship - showcased the fastest jumpers and best freestyle routines in the world.

Throughout each long competition day, most jumpers become tired and fatigued, and misses begin to occur more and more often. However, the Bulldogs got stronger and stronger as the days became longer and the events became more challenging, which truly speaks volumes to our strength as a team and training philosophy. The Bulldogs won the highest percentage of possible awards in the events that involved the most number of people. Notably, the team took home gold in both junior and senior team show for the seventh straight year.

Team success in the vision of the Bulldog program can take on multiple deeper meanings, including success in building relationships with people from all over the world, and strengthening bonds between teammates. With 30 countries represented at the event, the Bulldogs were exposed to a variety of jumping styles. The Bulldogs have developed their own unique style of jumping over the past 30 years and focus on performing clean, polished routines at competition to represent the sport in the best possible way.

For the past two years, World Jump Rope has split up the competition into the World Jump Rope Championship and the Pan American Championship. Many younger Bulldogs have competed at the Pan American Championship, held in Orlando, Florida while the older team members traveled to France and Portugal to compete internationally. Since the World Jump Rope Championship was held in Orlando this year, our team was united again and thus stronger. As many of our jumpers can attest, one of the most rewarding experiences from competing is not winning awards; it is cheering on the teammates who have been by your side during every step of the training process. Through the peer teaching model, our older jumpers are empowered to teach the younger jumpers throughout the year and help them reach their potential. This strong sense of community is a key aspect of the Bulldog Way.

We are so proud of every jumper who represented the Bouncing Bulldogs at competition, and we are beyond grateful for such gracious support from families and friends of the program. Most importantly, we are thankful for the team members who did not compete this year because the youngest jumpers are the key to our program and continue to remind us why we work hard and give back.

Brooke B. & Anna R.It’s finally here! The moment we’ve all been waiting for: the grand opening of the Bouncing Bulldogs Community Center, the world’s very first jump rope gym built from scratch!

The environmentally friendly space is designed to be a safe and welcoming place for children of all ages. Exciting features of the new gym include a state-of-the-art gym floor and a legacy room filled with historic pictures, news clippings, and awards from the past 30 years in honor of our alumni jumpers who built the foundation of the program. We cannot wait to see how the program grows in its new permanent home!

On Saturday, April 8, 2017, we will officially open the BBCC to celebrate the culmination of six years of hard work and dedication that have led to this moment. Join us for refreshments on April 8 at 10:00 a.m. for the grand opening ceremony, and take a tour of our new space between 10:30 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. Parking will not be available at the BBCC so we ask that you park in Rams Plaza Shopping Center. We will provide a shuttle service to and from the BBCC to Rams Plaza every 15 minutes. The day will be full of reflection and surprises so we encourage everyone in the community to join in celebrating a historic milestone that truly represents the entire Chapel Hill and Durham area.

The Bouncing Bulldogs are very humbled and grateful for the immense support of so many people in the community and beyond throughout this entire journey. We would like to thank Coach and Mrs. Fredrick for their unwavering dedication to the program over the past 30 years. Their leadership and service have inspired the Bouncing Bulldogs program to grow into a community whose passion for jump rope and emphasis on life skills are highly respected around the world.

The BBCC will truly be a material representation of everything the Bouncing Bulldogs stand for. The gym and community center represents the teamwork and hard work of many, unity within diversity, a unique character that defines the Bulldog program, and the outreach that the program values. We hope to see you on April 8 from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. to pay tribute to the community of families and friends who have made our dream a reality.

As Spring Fever sets in, the Bouncing Bulldogs continue to work toward their goals. With competition growing closer and our huge 5k fundraising event right around the corner, the Bulldog gym is buzzing. On April 25th, the Bouncing Bulldogs will host their first annual 5k Event to Challenge Obesity at Herndon Road Park in Durham. The event will include a 5k race, an awards ceremony to celebrate those who have participated in the 6 Week Program to Challenge Obesity, and an opportunity for the Bouncing Bulldogs to connect with the community. One of the goals of this event is to raise money for the brand new Bouncing Bulldogs Community Center: the first permanent home for the Bouncing Bulldogs. Bulldog team members, their families, and their friends have supported the program through the process of fundraising for the gym and planning the events, and now it is time to see all of their hard work pay off! Everyone is welcome to participate in this event, as the Bulldogs are hoping it will be the final push to obtain all the funds we need to get the gym built. Registration will be open until the 15th of April, please sign up if you haven’t already, and we will see you there!

THE JUMPERS

We come from 18 different countries and attend many of the schools in the Research Triangle area of North Carolina. We are world, national, regional and sate champions in the growing sport of jump rope. We like to think of ourselves as ambassadors for health, fitness and youth development.